The hard palate is a thin horizontal bony plate of the skull, located in the roof of the mouth. It spans the arch formed by the upper teeth.
It is formed by the palatine process of the maxilla and horizontal plate of palatine bone.
It forms a partition between the nasal passages and the mouth. Also on the anterior portion of the roof of the hard palate is the Rugae which are the irregular ridges in the mucous membrane that help facilitate the movement of food backwards towards the pharynx. This partition is continued deeper into the mouth by a fleshy extension called the soft palate.
Read more about Hard Palate: Function
Famous quotes containing the words hard and/or palate:
“It is hard to tell truth, and hard not to.”
—Mason Cooley (b. 1927)
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)